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Lemon Cream Dessert

A lemon custard filling topped with cream cheese and whipped topping, served over a nut crust.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and lemon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,227 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓

Lemon Cream Dessert

Oven350°F
Time15–20 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the lemon filling

  1. In a saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch; gradually stir in water until smooth.

  2. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened, then remove from heat.

  3. Stir a small amount of hot filling into egg yolks.

  4. Return all to the pan, stirring constantly.

  5. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir for 1 minute.

  6. Remove from heat; stir in butter and lemon peel.

  7. Gently stir in lemon juice.

  8. Refrigerate until cool.

Make and bake the crust

  1. In a bowl, combine flour and nuts.

  2. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

  3. Press the mixture onto the bottom of a greased 13" x 9" x 2" baking dish.

  4. Bake at 350°F for 15–20 minutes or until the edges are golden.

  5. Cool on a wire rack.

Assemble and chill

  1. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and confectioner's sugar until smooth.

  2. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the crust.

  3. Spread the cooled lemon mixture over the cream cheese layer.

  4. In another bowl, whisk milk, pudding mixes, and vanilla for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened.

  5. Let the mixture stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set.

  6. Fold in half of the whipped topping.

  7. Spread the folded topping over the lemon layer.

  8. Spread the remaining topping over the top.

  9. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before cutting.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

696Calories
20 gProtein
18 gFat
112 gCarbs

Counts 5 of 6 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Butter + lemontop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,227 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  2. Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  3. Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together98,233 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  4. Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together53,532 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  5. Egg + lemontop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together44,316 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).

Sugar and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Cornstarch
Thickens the lemon filling as it boils, giving it a smooth, sliceable body.
Egg yolks
Add richness and help set the filling when gently cooked.
Butter
Adds richness and a tender, smooth mouthfeel to the filling.
Lemon juice
Provides the sharp acidity that defines the pie's lemon flavor.
Sugar
Sweetens the filling and balances the acidity of the lemon.

The step that matters

Tempering the egg yolks. Adding hot filling to the yolks a little at a time warms them gradually so they don't scramble. Returning them to the pan and cooking to a gentle boil then sets the yolks and fully cooks the starch.

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, butter):

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Lemonthe original
  3. Raisinfits about as well
  4. Figfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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